We are sharing episode #4 of our podcast today!! We recorded this episode in June, which feels like forever ago, but the content within is timeless and is sure to offer a pleasant respite from the mania of the current political news stream.

It’s amazing when, without even trying, your life continues to intertwine with people who make an impact on it. I met Lauren McDonald years ago because our fathers work together, and I was immediately taken with her drive, enthusiasm, and energy. Throughout the years she has reached out and asked for advice on various aspects of the entertainment industry and it’s amazing, but not surprising, that the project she is currently working on has such synergy with my current passion project, Project:Women. Lauren is a college student and joined the Pioneers In Skirts team in March as an intern. From what I see, and from what the lead producer, Lea-Ann W. Berst, has described “She is a true example of pioneering her career. She has stepped forward to handle a couple of projects that will teach her a lot for her future career as a publicist in the entertainment industry. I personally can’t wait to see how this learning experience with Pioneers in Skirts will benefit her career!” I am so grateful that Lauren reached …

I wasn’t looking to find a “mommy” podcast, but when I stumbled upon Hillary Frank’s radio show called The Longest Shortest Time, I was hooked from the first listen. It just gets you. It’s comforting in that way that only girlfriends can be.. just talking, sharing, opening up. The honest, real stuff. But like, the real real stuff. This show gets into the deep, dark, nitty-gritty parts of having a baby, the parts that are scary or awkward to talk about, but feel real good to get out. So if you’re a mamma, or about to be one, take a listen. I think you’ll dig it. Here’s a few of my favorite episodes so far (and one that pissed me off): The New You, It’ll Do If the first story in this episode makes your eyes well up (as it did mine), then the second story might get you laughing. An excerpt from the second story, from conversation between Hillary, who’s daughter is 5, and Jane Marie: Hillary: “…I haven’t gone back to my pre-pregnancy weight. …

When Tara Tona asks me to be involved in anything my very first instinct is to say yes. I love this girl; she is smart, curious, imaginative, funny, so witty and genuinely cool. So when she asked me to be a part of Project:Women I (obviously) said yes! However I had no idea how much the journey we were about to embark on would suddenly become such a delightful and welcomed obsession. Researching for Project:Women has forced me to spend many an hour reading an article, and then clicking through to another article…I can’t seem to concentrate on anything else because all I want to do is read, share, read and share more stories about the incredible conversations going on about women. But it’s not all about women’s rights or feminism or women’s suffrage, but about how insanely cool women are and how important it is right now to support, glorify, celebrate, champion, educate, promote, bring together, fight for, fight with, stand up for and rally around the females that are inhabiting the earth at …

Take a moment, escape into a dreamy, beautiful, complex world of women… I can’t recall how I stumbled upon this, but I’m so glad I did. Women’s Tales is a series of short films brought together by Miuccia Prada. All are written and directed by women, and feature some truly lovely, talented female actors. Why I love this collection: These films make you feel the power, beauty, vulnerability, complexity of women. They made me both laugh and cry, feel at ease and feel uncomfortable. They are each no more than about 15 minutes long, just long enough to draw you completely into their worlds, but not so long that you have to “find the time” to watch them. And so much gorgeous fashion!! Since it’s a film collection by Miuccia, most all of the costumes are from the MiuMiu collection. Doubly fabulous. My mini-reviews of each: * #1 “The Powder Room”, by Zoe Cassavetes. Features groovy, retro music, has a slight 80’s vibe. It’s like a dream, soft and gradual, without any clear point. Perhaps …

This glorious International Women’s Day I found myself listening to one of the best short stories I’d heard in a while, on the radio show Selected Shorts. It’s a book called Women in Clothes–and not really a short story but a compilation of true stories, almost like diary entries, from many different women of different backgrounds. It’s about these women’s relationships with their garments, but also much more than that. The stories speak of concerns, insecurities, love, pride, comfort, hard work, toil, strife, gender identity, and even the power of a scented coat. What I love about these stories is they reveal Clothing as a language of communication. Attire that speaks to you, about you. Sartorial synchronization. What do the inhabitants of your closet do to your personality, your character, your mood? My two favorites: The story Clothes on the Ground, a conversation with a Cambodian garment worker. Simply and beautifully told, it made me appreciate my undergarments a great deal more. And This Person is a Robot about a smell scientist who goes into an NYC coat …

The truth is I started adoring Lulu Miller and Alix Spiegel long before their seriously great new podcast, Invisibilia, hit the airwaves. I first heard their voices on Radiolab and This American Life, respectively, and would always perk up when they came on a segment of either show. They just have a way, a feel… like a comfy, cozy, not-too-serious-yet-highly-intelligent way about them. And Lulu makes me want to pinch her cheeks right through the darn radio. Their collective charm, years of scientific reporting, and podcasting prowess are brought to glorious light in Invisibilia. The topics they have covered so far are brilliant, and frankly so profound that I wonder how it is that these topics aren’t more widely discussed already. But here these women are, bringing it to us with their strong, playful, feminine voices, talking of things that could shift the polarity of the whole world. (Or at very least, get us thinking in a groovy new way). A direct link to their NPR page is HERE. Their podcast is on iTunes and the awesome Stitcher app. …

A little dedication post to a clever, talented, and generally pretty great woman: Elizabeth Gilbert. Part of why I adore her so much is for her wit and humor.. she isn’t afraid to crack silly jokes, poke a little fun, but also attend to serious subjects with care and intelligence, and quite a bit of insight. If you follow her at all then you already know this: She has a new book coming out in September! And it seems totally up my alley, all about creativity and taking chances. Yesssss… good stuff all around. I began doing the Twitter thing recently, and she was one of the first people I started following. Definitely one of my favorites, she keeps things lively (and ever-inspiring!) Her website is full of goodies too. This is from a piece she wrote about her Thoughts on Writing: In the end, I love this work. I have always loved this work. My suggestion is that you start with the love and then work very hard and try to let go of the results. Cast …